TV Preview: Lyric Opera of Kansas City Presents Mozart's The Magic Flute

Lyric Opera of Kansas City continues its 56th season with a co- production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute November 9, 13, 15 and 17, 2013 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Check out video highlights below!

The innovative presentations of classic works continue the 2013-14 season. An ingenious interpretation of The Magic Flute features whimsical, colorful sets and costumes by renowned visual artist Jun Kaneko. This co-production with San Francisco Opera thrilled audiences and critics alike when performed in San Francisco.

Mozart's genius is supremely evident in his last opera, The Magic Flute. The deceptively simple fairytale story is matched with some of the most stunningly beautiful music ever written. From the coloratura pyrotechnics of the Queen of the Night's arias, to the lyrical anguish of Pamina's "Ach ich fu?hls," to the vaudeville-like love duet of Papageno and Papagena, the music illustrates what sets Mozart apart from his many rivals: a unique and profound understanding of humanity.

With a vibrant, sophisticated use of color and kinetic forms, Jun Kaneko, renowned ceramicist and visual artist, has created a magical world that, like Mozart's music, is engaging in its simplicity, but illustrates the depth of the story magnificently. Several of his unique pieces are on display in Kansas City, located on the exterior concrete plaza of the Bartle Hall Convention Center in downtown Kansas City.

The Magic Flute will be directed by Harry Silverstein and features tenor Shawn Mathey as Tamino, soprano Lauren Snouffer as Pamina. Snouffer was recently named a "standout singer" by the Wall Street Journal, while Mathey has been described by The Opera Critic as bringing "a rich tenor and shapely phrasing" to this role. The cast also features soprano Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, baritone Daniel Belcher as Papageno and tenor Doug Jones as Monostatos.

The production will be conducted by Gary Thor Wedow, who is making is Lyric Opera debut.

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